Re: Canon wide angle lenses

Today ji commented courteously on the subject at hand

I have a Canon 20D camera and I'm trying to decide between
3 Canon lenses for wide angle shooting.
#1. EF-S 10-22mm F/3.5-4.5 USM $799.99
#2. 17-40mm F4 L USM EF $799.99
#3. 16-35mm F2.8 L USM EF $1,499.99
I am now using the kit lens (EF-S 18-55 F 3.5-5.6) and am
satisfied with
the angle, but I am interested in a better quality picture.
I will be shooting family group pictures,indoor and
outdoor. I am trying to find out if the quality of the
16-35 is that much better than the other two as the price
might indicate. I am trying, however, to stay away from the
EF-S lenses in case I upgrade my camera.
Thank you in advance for any information.

I have the 17-40mm as well as the longer 24-70mm. Both are
superb lenses.

My interest is almost exclusively cars, so while a wider angle
lens might help me get a shot in a tight spot, the apparent
perspective distortion wrecks the "look" I like for cars, so
the 17-40 is about as wide as I can stand.

For the subjects you describe, are you concerned about not
being able to get far enough away to get everything in, hence
you're looking for something pretty wide? If so, please be
aware that the same apparent perspective distortion will
likely make the people in your family shots also look bad, as
it will accentuate anything "sticking" out, such as noses,
chins, ears, a slightly chubby stomach, etc. And, depending on
how tall you are, your indoor pictures may have walls that
look like they're falling over backwards due to you being
higher than the optical center of the picture you're taking.

Apparent perspective distortion can be corrected to some
degree in software, but since the "correction" is only in 2-D,
you often have to go with less correction to avoid distorting
some other part of the picture in an unacceptable way.

If your primary interest is photos of people, your "subjects"
will find the pictures much more flattering if you use the
longest focal length you can and still get everyone in the
group photo. The slightly foreshortened look is why studio
protrait photographers frequently shoot at 85-105mm
equivalent.

--
ATM, aka Jerry

"Whether You Think You CAN Or CAN'T, You're Right." ? Henry
Ford
.

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